Konoha Gakuen: HOTD
by Egghead
Summary: Summary: A Naruto/HOTD Xover. Follow a group of survivors through apocalyptic times as they search for their loved ones and struggle against "Them". Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto and HOTD franchise though I kinda wish I did
1. Outbreak

**Konoha Gakuen: HOTD**

**(Summary: A Naruto/HOTD Xover. Follow a group of survivors through apocalyptic times as they search for their loved ones and struggle against "Them". Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto and HOTD franchise though I kinda wish I did)**

**Chapter 1: Outbreak**

_**"*Cough* Y-You h-have to d-do it. I-I'm... beyond h-help now. I-If you d-don't, I'll b-become... O-one of "Them" a-and t-turn on y-you." A pale, sickly looking man with his black hair in a topknot and a scar across his nose said as he sat on the floor with his back against the wall. His right arm had a makeshift bandage which was doing a poor job of stemming the blood from a greivious looking wound.**_

_**"N-No way... T-This has got to be some kind of sick joke right? How could you ask me to do something like that to you?" A blonde haired teenager with whisker like marks on his face and a bloody crowbar on his hand retorted. Behind him, a girl with long, black hair and pale eyes looks on with horror, clutching what seems like a longbow with a quiver full of arrows on her back.**_

_**The older man shook his head sadly and is once again, wracked with coughs. "Once you're... b-bitten... by "Them", y-you know that... it's only a matter of... time before you... turn if t-the bite doesn't outright kill... you first." The elder man raises a shaking hand in front of him. "E-even now... I can feel... myself s-slipping away... I'd... r-rather you f-finish it now b-before..."**_

_**The man's head bonelessly hangs back, cutting off whatever he was going to say. His skin started to take on the greyish pallor that the zombified infected had and his mouth started to froth as if he was some sort of rabid animal.**_

_**"Nononononononononono! You can't do this to me! You've gotta hang on!" The blonde cried, tears starting to fall from his cereulean blue eyes. But his pleas went unheard and he knew that the man in front of him now was no longer the man he knew.**_

_**Tearfully, he raised the crowbar over his head and prepared to do what was necessary even though it was breaking his heart. He swings the weapon down just as the newly zombified older man suddenly lunges forward towards him. The blonde's sorrow filled scream fills the air.**_

_**"IRUKA SENSEI!"**_

**(Two hours earlier)**

Uzumaki Naruto was getting bored. And to those who knew him, that only meant one of two things.

One: He was going to pull some outrageous prank which the faculty and staff of Konoha Gakuen will have absolutely no warning of till the deed was done.

Or Two: He was going to ditch classes altogether and nobody knew how he escaped from the school premises.

Hell... Nobody could ever figure out how he managed to pass his his classes in the first place.

With his reputation as an infamous delinquent and a less then stellar attendance record, it was a miracle that he has not repeated a grade since entering school. Many say that his teachers simply wanted him out of their hair as soon as possible, promoting him so he could be somebody else's problem. The bolder ones speculated that his ties with the recently retired headmaster, Hiruzen Sarutobi had something to do with it.

How else would an orphan nobody like Naruto be able to enter a prestigous school like Konoha Gakuen with it's high standards and pass?

While it was true that he had close ties with the ex headmaster Hiruzen Sarutobi, Naruto NEVER took advantage of their relationship, preferring to advance on his own merits.

The real reason why Uzumaki Naruto got away with so many things was because he is a maverick genius when it came to the practical applications of getting in and out of mischief which included avoiding failing grades. Granted, he was also a closet anarchist who thrived on chaos and mayhem but it wasn't his fault that the lessons in class got too boring. He simply wanted to spice up his otherwise monotonous school life.

After all, his was a somewhat psychotic brilliance matched only by the Academy "Golden Boy" and Uchiha Family scion Sasuke. But that didn't stop his detractors from trying to bring him down.

And boy were there a lot of them, ranging from suckup teachers and faculty members to the Uchiha's infamously rabid fangirls. Thankfully though, he was on civil terms with the somewhat aloof Sasuke who didn't really give a damn about his unofficial supporters.

This basically meant that Naruto had a lot of targets for his pranks to make his life at school a little more bearable.

Today was a different story though. Today, he was in no mood to cause any sort of trouble even though he was bored as hell in class. And for some strange reason, he felt extremely uneasy as if there was a wrongness in the air.

Naruto always had an innate, almost mystical ability to sense that there was something wrong. It was this danger sense which helped him out of many tight spots in the past and has yet to fail him.

And right now, his danger sense was practically screaming at him.

"Naruto!"

A shout followed by a thrown chalk to the head snapped Naruto out of his funk. He turns his head in annoyance the perpetrator of the deed.

"So glad you could join us again Naruto." Umino Iruka said as he tossed another chalk up and down in his hand while the rest of the class snickered at the blonde troublemaker's predicament.

_"Somebody up there must really like messing with my head."_ Naruto groused to himself, glaring balefully at the person who, apart from old man Sarutobi, was the closest thing an orphan like him had for a family. And while he loved the man like a brother, Iruka was also the only person capable of catching him red handed in any mischief he might cause which also made the older man something of a nemesis of his.

"And because Naruto sees it fit to let his mind wander away from the lesson at hand, I'm gonna see if anything I've said so far is getting through your thick skulls. So guess what? Pop quiz!" Iruka said gleefully and earning him a classfull of groans and earning Naruto more then his fair share of dirty looks and glares.

**...**

"Kill me now..." Naruto moaned as he laid on the bench on the school's roof with his head on the lap of one Hyuuga Hinata during their lunch break.

"Now now Naruto. You know that Iruka sensei only wants what's best for you." The girl answered with a small smile.

The blonde cracks an eye open and looks up at his girlfriend. Her long ebony locks framed a lovely face with a pair of pale, blank eyes which seems to be genetically inherent in all members of her clan.

The Hyuugas were one of the oldest, most influential families of Japan and were practically considered as modern day royalty right next to the Imperial Family of their country. And as such, they also ran their affairs like a monarchy and mostly looked down on whomever they considered to be lower class citizens which also included members of their branch family who was tasked with their safety.

But Hinata was something of an anomaly in her family. She was a kind, gentle and caring soul who hated how her clan acted and the division it was creating within her family which she sought to mend. These were the traits which elders said made her unsuitable to be the clan heir because to them, it was a sign of weakness.

But Naruto knew that Hinata was far from weak. She was actually a strong willed girl despite her gentle nature and likes to speak her mind irregardless of the consequences. He counted the days till she was strong enough to prove her worth to the stuffy old bastards then tell them to shove it up where the sun doesn't shine.

Her family were not aware of his relationship with Hinata. But he suspected that if they ever found out, they'd do everything in their power to tear them apart.

Not that he'd ever let them if they tried.

Right now though, he simply wanted to enjoy his time with her.

"Tell that to the 39 other students who wants my head for that pop quiz." Naruto countered, studying Hinata's face before pulling it down and planting a soft kiss on her lips. "I'd rather spend some quality time here with you."

Hinata laughed lightly at this. "As much as I'd like that, I'm afraid I can't right now. As you can see, I have to go to archery practice soon." She said, gesturing at her traditional japanese archery outfit as well as the longbow and quiverfull of arrows at her side.

"You and your family's tradition." Naruto grumbled before adding with a foxy grin. "Why can't you pick a more ordinary sport like tennis or swimming? You could at least give me a show instead of staying all covered up like that."

"Behave or you'll be target practice in our next session at the Archery Team." Hinata admonished with a light blush on her cheek and a slap to her boyfriend's arm. Although she was already used to her boyfriend's teasings which sometimes bordered on being perverted, she was still deeply conservative by nature and was confident that Naruto knew where her limitations lie.

As for Naruto, the blonde knew better then to take things too far in his relationship with Hinata. Sure he teased her and they've shared some intimate moments together. But it was all consensual and he would never do anything that was against his girlfriend's will. He loved and respected her too much for that.

A commotion near the front gate of the academy suddenly catches their attention. Looking down from the roof, they could see two male teachers and a female teacher confronting what seemed like student who was unsuccessfully and clumsily trying to enter the closed front gate.

When one of the teachers tried to reach through the grills to get the student's attention, the student promptly bites a bloody chunk out the arm causing the teacher to fall back clutching his bitten arm screaming in pain. The lone female teacher then spends the next few minutes administering first aid to the bitten teacher. But just when it looked like he was recovering, the bitten teacher suddenly pulls the female teacher down and rips into her throat. At seeing the gory display, the remaining terrified teacher runs for his life.

From up the roof, Naruto and Hinata could only look on in horror at the spectacle.

"Ohh kami..." Hinata whispers as she sobs quietly. She wanted nothing more then to look away but she couldn't. Naruto himself felt like he was about to lose his lunch but had resisted the urge and forced himself to think.

"We have to go find Iruka Sensei." Naruto suddenly said, managing to tear his eyes away from the gruesome sight and grabbing his girlfriend's hand. "He'll know what to do."

The pair runs down from the roof and spends the next five minutes looking for Iruka before finding him in the middle of one of his classes.

"Naruto? Hinata? What are you two doing here?" The teacher asks in confusion.

"Iruka Sensei... We need to talk to you outside now." Naruto said tonelessly. Iruka was about to admonish Naruto for interrupting his class, but the completely serious expression of the blonde and the outright terrified look of his girlfriend's eyes changed his mind.

"Fine then. Read page fifteen to twenty of your textbook class. I'll be right back." Iruka instructed his class and follows Naruto and Hinata outside. As soon as the door to the classroom was closed, Iruka turns to the two. "Alright then. What's going on here?"

Naruto quickly narrated what he and Hinata saw from the rooftop much to the disbelief of the teacher. "Are you guys serious? I hope it's not another one of your stupid pranks Naruto."

Naruto shook his head vehemently. "I wish that I WAS just kidding Iruka Sensei but it's all true coz me and Hinata Chan saw it with our own eyes. Kami... It was like watching a horror movie gone horribly wrong."

"Naruto Kun is telling the truth sensei." Hinata seconded, looking a good deal calmer then before. "I saw it too and I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it firsthand."

Iruka ran a hand through his hair as he mulled over what Naruto and Hinata told him. "But even if it's coming from you Hinata... I mean, you have to understand where I'm coming from here. Even you have to admit that your story of faculty members attacking and devouring each other is rather difficult to believe and..."

Iruka was interrupted when the PR system comes to life. "**Attention all students... Attention all students... There has been a violent intrusion into the school grounds so students are hereby advised to immediately evacuate the premises in an orderly fashion as instructed by faculty members. I repeat... There has been a violent intrusion into the school grounds so students are hereby advised to immediately evacuate the premises in an orderly fashion as instructed by faculty members."**

The speaker grew silent but the feedback indicated that the PR System was still activated. After a few moments, the voice came back on, but this time sounding terrified.

**"W-What are you doing here? No! Stay back! Someone help me please! AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!" **The sound of horrid moans and the crash of equipment can be heard over the PR system along with the death cries of the broadcaster.

Amongst the listeners were a dark haired teen and his pink haired female seatmate... Another dark haired, though lazy looking teen who lifted his head up from his desk long enough to listen with narrowed eyes along with a blonde female behind him... A purple haired female wearing the faculty gym clothes... A white haired teacher wearing glasses... And an elderly-looking man with a cane who came to the school together with his young grandson for a visit.

A few moments past before all hell broke loose inside the school. Both students and faculty members were rushing, fighting and struggling to get to the exit first causing a stampede which only raised the number of casualties. Only a few had enough sense to remain objective enough to plan out their escape.

Naruto, Iruka and Hinata barely managed to avoid the mad rush by ducking into a classroom where Naruto and Iruka proceeded to search for things they could use to defend themselves. They found a crowbar and a mop which they could use as weapons. Naruto took the crowbar for himself while Iruka broke off the mophead and sharpened the end of the broken shaft with a cutter to use as a stabbing implement as well as a bludgeon. Hinata changed into a pair of spare school uniform she found inside which was more practical then her archery uniform then went to work checking her bow and arrows.

"So what's our next move?" Naruto asks, hefting the crowbar.

"Obviously we need to get out of here." Iruka said dryly, loosening his tie and rolling back his sleeves before brandishing his makeshift spear. "But we need to assess the situation first so let's look around for a bit. Maybe we can meet up and cooperate with other people. After all, there's strength in numbers."

Naruto nods his head at this before looking at Hinata and the bow she had in her hands. "You better be ready to use that on live targets Hinata. Your ammo is limited so make your shots count."

"And also, don't let anyone infected bite you because based from what we've seen, you'll get infected yourself." Naruto added.

"An excellent suggestion. Now let's go." Iruka said, opening the door and cautiously peeking out. There was currently nobody in the hallway so the trio slipped out and hurried towards a corridor which would lead them to another building.

Along the way, they could see that there were already a significant number of infected chasing down or devouring the other students and faculty members in the school grounds. And those who managed to escape their clutches but were wounded would simply turn into an infected after a short amount of time.

"This is horrible." Hinata exclaimed, looking around the area. "What could have caused this?"

"Let's not stick around to find out." Naruto mutters then notices that Hinata had stopped in her tracks. "What is it?"

Instead of answering, Hinata fearfully points to a figure staggering towards them. Iruka's eyes widens in recognition.

"Kami... It's Mizuki. He's turned into one of them." Iruka said. The silver haired zombie coming towards them was Iruka's colleague and friend. Though Naruto didn't really like him all that much, NOBODY deserved this fate.

"We need to keep him away. Shoot him Hinata." Naruto said. The dark haired girl managed not to fumble with her weapon and shot an arrow towards Mizuki which hits him on the chest. But still the zombie kept coming towards them.

"Body shots doesn't seem to work. Target the head Hinata!" Naruto shouted. But Hinata was too slow in reloading her weapon so Iruka himself charged at Mizuki and stabs him with the makeshift spear. But the zombified Mizuki simply plunged it deeper into itself and savagely bit down on Iruka's arm before anyone could stop him. Iruka managed to kick Mizuki away where a waiting Naruto bashed him over the head with his crowbar and destroys the brain which effectively stop him.

"Oh kami... Iruka Sensei... I'm so sorry." Hinata said with tears in her eyes as she tended to the grave wound on Iruka's arm which essentially meant his death, one way or another.

Hinata looks up at Naruto who had an unreadable expression on his face before he spoke. "Let's get him to the roof. We'll be safe there for a little while."

After a few minutes of fighting through a throng of the infected, the three managed to barricade themselves on the rooftop where Iruka leaned against the wall by the side clutching his wounded arm while Naruto stood guard and Hinata frantically tried to call for help using her cellphone but to no avail.

"It's no use..." Iruka said as he looks around the town from their vantage point up on the rooftop. "Whatever is happening here seems to be happening everywhere else." The instructor stated pointing towards the wisps of smoke from various locations which indicated that fire had broken out in some parts. "And pretty soon, it won't be safe to stay here either coz we'll be overwhelmed."

Iruka then looks down at the school grounds. "I wonder if a drop from this height will kill me?"

Naruto snaps his head back at Iruka so quickly that he thought he heard it snap. "What the hell are you saying Iruka Sensei? You can't just give up like this! We're gonna get help for you and we're all getting out of this together!"

Iruka shakes his head sadly at Naruto. "I know it's difficult to accept but let's face facts here Naruto. I've been bitten and it's only a matter of time before I turn. But before I do, I'm asking you as your teacher... No as a brother, don't let me become one of them. Kill me before that ever happens."

All of a sudden, Iruka was overcome by a coughing fit, rolling along the ground in pain and vomiting blood. He looks at the blood in his hands then at Naruto and Hinata. "Looks like it came sooner then expected."

**...**

A while later, Naruto silently sat besides the covered body of Iruka who he had killed just a few minutes earlier. Nearby, Hinata was sobbing uncontrollably.

Making his decision, Naruto stands up and starts taking down part of the barricade they had erected to keep the infected at bay.

"W-What are you doing Naruto Kun? Why are you taking down the barricade?" Hinata asks fearfully.

"I'm gonna go down there and kill as many of them as I can Hinata." Naruto said tonelessly as he continued to work. "When I leave, I want you to reinforce the barricade again, continue calling for help and shoot any infected that comes through. One of your calls is sure to connect and help will come."

Naruto suddenly feels Hinata grab him from behind crying.

"Please don't leave me Naruto Kun!" She cried. "We've already lost Iruka Sensei and I don't think I'll be able to go on living if you were killed too so please... Please stay here with me."

Naruto stops dismantling the barricade and holds Hinata's hand. "I'm sorry for my selfishness Hinata Chan. I wasn't thinking clearly. It's just that Iruka Sensei…."

"I understand Naruto Kun…. I understand…." Hinata said, burying her face on Naruto's back as the blonde looks up at the sky and wonders what they should do next.

Author's Notes: Thought I'd experiment a bit and came up with this crossover. Hope you guys like it. Enjoy an R&R


	2. United We Stand Divide They Fall

**Chapter 2: United We Stand... Divided They Fall**

"W-What are you doing Sasuke Kun?"

Uchiha Sasuke looks up in annoyance at his pink haired female companion Haruno Sakura as he was searching the dead body of a visiting police officer. As if anticipating trouble, Sasuke and Sakura had quietly slipped out in the middle of the school broadcast which eventually resulted in a schoolwide panic and later had seen the infected tearing into students like an all day buffet. As sickened as they were with the sight, the two knew they had to move on or risk being attacked themselves. And in the middle of their run, they came across the corpse of the local police officer.

"What does it look like? I'm trying to see if we can salvage anything useful from this guy." Sasuke said as he examines the fully loaded Nambu revolver, fifteen extra rounds of ammunition and collapsable baton he found, pointedly ignoring the fact that everything above the policeman's neckline is a gory, shattered mess which was fortunate since this meant that he certainly won't be getting up as an infected like any of the other poor souls who had been bitten.

"B-But you're robbing a corpse! You can't do that!" Sakura pointed out, shaking in fear and sobbing.

Sasuke took a deep breath to calm himself. Sakura was one of the very few people he considered a friend and she is certainly smart as hell. But the current situation obviously didn't sit well with her and she was on the verge of a breakdown so he had to do something.

"I'm from a family of cops so I'm aware that this is robbery Sakura. But we have to face reality now." Sasuke said before grabbing her shoulders. "We are in a hostile and dangerous situation here and we have to do everything we can to survive which includes taking whatever it is that this corpse have that might be useful coz he certainly won't be needing it anymore. Don't you want to get out of here and go see your family?"

After a few moments, Sasuke could feel Sakura's trembling subside and her sobs became quiet sniffles. Sasuke nods in approval at this and smile. "Good girl. Now help me turn him over and grab the first-aid kit he has there. It's not safe staying in one place too long with those infected running around."

**...**

A lone infected can be seen wandering aimlessly in a long corridor. A few moments later, what looked like a wet rag impacts against it's head but it doesn't respond and continues wandering. After a short while, a thrown can clatters noisily in front of the infected which turns it's head and shuffles towards the sound.

"I was right. Those things only respond to sound and to a certain extent, light." Nara Shikamaru stated quietly, earning him a nod from his childhood friend Yamanaka Ino as they hid behind a row of lockers.

"So as long as we keep quiet, we could sneak past them with no problem, right?" The blonde asks hopefully.

"So long as it's just a few of them in a given area, yeah. But if not, we really have to fight our way through them which will be troublesome." Shikamaru said before lowering his eyes sorrowfully. "I just wish Chouji was still with us. Anything physical was his forte." Shikamaru added sadly, referring to their heavyset friend. The three had gotten away early during the mad stampede towards the exit and had even escaped with their lives when they saw a group of students attacked by zombified teachers when they tried asking for help in the faculty office which was the same place the trio was going to. But then they ran into some bad luck when they encountered a horde of the Infected.

Chouji opted to stay behind and fight them off so that his best friends could escape.

Ino's eyes teared up again at the memory of the absent member of their triumvate but refused to cry. Instead, she opted to bury her head in Shikamaru's shoulders to hide her tears and said. "Chouji would've wanted us to go on Shikamaru. We have to survive for his sake."

"I guess you're right. Giving up now would be disgracing his memory." Shikamaru said as he picks up the lead pipe he was using as a weapon while Ino held on to a fire extinguisher she found lying around. "Lets move then. We gotta find somewhere where we can hunker down for a short while so we can come up with a plan."

**...**

"Jiisan..." A young boy wearing a scarf and a pair of googles on his head named Konohamaru whimpers from behind his grandfather Hiruzen as he fearfully looks around at the infected who had them surrounded.

Konohamaru had been pestering his grandfather to take him to the school for a while now but due to his duties as headmaster, Hiruzen had been unable to bring him along. Now that he was retired, he was finally able to spend some quality time with his grandson and decided to take him on a little fieldtrip to his former place of work.

Unfortunately though, the fieldtrip turned into a horrific fight for survival. Thus far, they had been able to avoid the infected but their luck changed when they found themselves backed into a corner by a group that was chasing them.

"Don't worry Konohamaru. I won't let any of them near you." Hiruzen assured his grandson as he stood between him and the infected while gripping the handle of his cane with his free hand.

But before he could do anything, a warcry is heard from behind the infected who turns their attention towards the noise. A few moments later, Sarutobi sees that the source of the disturbance was a purple haired woman wearing a tracksuit viciously plowing through the infected with a baseball bat. He recognizes the woman as the one of the school's gym teachers Mitarashi Anko.

"Headmaster! Are you alright?" Anko asks, stopping in front of the former headmaster and his grandson. She must've seem more terrifying then the infected to Konohamaru because he hid himself even further behind Hiruzen.

"I'm fine Anko. What about you?" Hiruzen asks in concern, eyeing the bloody bat.

"I'm fine sir. I didn't let myself get bitten by them." Anko answers.

"That's good to know. What's the situation?" The headmaster inquires.

"To put it bluntly sir... The situation is FUBAR and we need to leave the school immediately." Anko stated, warily watching as more infected shuffled into view.

"We won't be able to do that by ourselves though. And even if we were to leave, I'd wager that the situation is the same around town." Hiruzen pointed out. "Right now, let's just concentrate on getting to a safer location and plan our moves from there based on whatever information we may get of the situation."

"Let's get to the clinic then." Anko suggested. "There's a phoneline and a TV there so we can find out what's really going on. Plus, it probably has whatever emergency supplies we may need for an emergency."

"An excellent suggestion." Hiruzen said with an approving nod. It was comforting to know that at least there was someone who kept a level head in all this madness. "Lead the way then Anko."

**...**

"Alright Hinata. Crank it up." Naruto called out, adjusting his grip on the fire hose he held. It has been an hour since the two came up to the roof and barricaded themselves for safety. During this time, Hinata continued attempting to contact her family or the police for assistance but to no avail. What made it worse was that the infected were starting to break through the makeshift barricade they had built.

Fortunately, Naruto came up with the idea of using the firehose as a weapon and after unhooking it from it's place, instructed Hinata to turn the water pressure all the way up.

"Ano... Are you sure you want to do this Naruto Kun?" Hinata asks in concern. "The water pressure from the hose is quite strong and you might not be able to handle it."

"Don't worry about it. I'll manage somehow." Naruto said with a smile. "Besides... This is EXACTLY what we need to use against them if we wanna get off the roof to somewhere safer. Now let it rip!"

Hinata needed no further urgings. She does as her boyfriend said and Naruto had to struggle to regain control of the wildly flailing hose. But when he did, he directed the high pressure stream of water towards the group of infected who had broken through the barricade and sends them flying back.

"Oh yeah! Take that you freakin' bastards!" Naruto cheers before turning the hose towards the path near the stairs and for the next minute or so, clears it of any infected who were just standing there waiting. "Hinata! Get ready to make a run for it!" Naruto bellows, noticing that the water pressure from the fire hose was decreasing.

Hinata nods her assent and bites down on three arrows before nocking a fourth one on her bow. Naruto then drops the fire hose, picks up his crowbar and charges forward.

One of the infected who survived the watery assault tried to attack but Hinata brought it down with a well aimed arrow through the head. Naruto then bashes another one before hooking a third using the curved end of the crowbar and swings it around and towards a recovering infected. Their collision sends them hurtling off the roof.

"Let's go Hinata!" Naruto calls out, watching his girlfriend launch a few mor arrows in rapid succession before following him down the stairs. After going down a few stories, the two stop momentarily to catch their breath. But before Hinata could ask what's next, Naruto puts a finger on his lip indicating he wanted silence.

A moment later, both can hear footsteps coming towards them so Naruto hefts his crowbar while Hinata prepares an arrow. As the footsteps grew louder and drew nearer, Naruto decides to take action and jumps out to attack what he assumed to be an infected. But instead, he found himself staring down the barrel of a revolver.

"Naruto?" A surprised voice asks. The blonde discovers that the person holding the gun was none other then Uchiha Sasuke who quickly lowers his gun. And behind him was a terrified looking Sakura. "Kami... I thought you were one of them and was about to put a bullet through your head."

Naruto found himself releasing his breath which he unconsciously held. That was certainly a close shave but he wasn't about to admit that to his friend/rival. "Yeah well you wouldn't have had the chance to pull the trigger coz I would've bashed your brains in first teme. You're just damned lucky I recognized you and managed to stop myself." Naruto shot back with a small smile.

At first, Sasuke couldn't believe what he heard but seeing the blonde smile, recognized it as an attempt to lighten up the mood of the otherwise grim situation.

"Yeah right. Dream on dobe." Sasuke stated with a small smile of his own before his expression turns grim. "So who else is with you?"

"Just Hinata. Everyone else we came across were either dead or infected." Naruto answers, his smile gone.

"It's more or less the same for us." Sakura said as she comes forward while Hinata steps out from behind Naruto. "Whatever's happening is affecting the entire school."

"Actually, I don't think it's just the entire school that's affected." Hinata spoke up. "All the phone lines are busy and there are fires all over the town. Not to mention that the person who originally infected a person here in school by biting him was outside of our gates."

Sasuke nods at this. "So that's what the violent intrusion they were yapping about. We already knew that if you get bitten by the infected and live, you'll turn into an infected yourself." Sasuke then pauses for a bit as he studies the blood splatters on Naruto's clothes. "Wait a sec here... I don't supposed you've been..." The dark haired teen starts to which Naruto shakes his head.

"Oh, this? Don't worry. It ain't my blood anyways." Naruto stated then hefts his crowbar. "I DO need to get up close and personal to use this thing you know?"

"Since we're all together like this, why don't we team up? Strength in numbers and all that." Sakura suggested.

"Sounds like a logical plan. Where were you two going before we met up?" Hinata asks.

"We were going to try the clinic." Sasuke replied, checking around the corner for any infected. "They may have stuff there that we can use."

"Guess its a good a place as any to hole up for a while." Naruto said with a shrug. "Let's get a move on before 'they' decide to show."

Silently but quickly, the group made their way towards the infirmary while avoiding any of the infected they might encounter. As they near their destination, they meet up with another group of survivors.

"Jiisan! Konohamaru!" Naruto said, recognizing his surrogate grandfather and his young grandson. "Thank kami you guys are alright."

"Naruto Nii!" The younger boy exclaims happily as he threw his arms around Naruto while Hiruzen claps the blonde on the shoulder. "Glad to see you're also unharmed Naruto Kun." The former headmaster said with a smile.

"Looks like we're not the only ones who have the same idea." Anko commented, stepping into view while shouldering her baseball bat.

Sasuke eyes Anko up and down, fingering the revolver stuck to his pants. "And YOU look like you've been through a lot. I don't suppose any of you have been bitten have you?"

"We're all fine." Hiruzen assured him. "We know better then to get bitten by them."

"Ano... Maybe we should continue this discussion in the infirmary." Hinata suggested.

"An excellent suggestion..." Hiruzen said. "Let's all go inside now."

"Wait for us!" Another voice calls out. Everyone looks back and sees Shikamaru and Ino hurrying towards them.

"Ino!" Sakura runs towards her best friend and hugs her in relief. "Thank kami you're alright."

"We're fine Sakura. But Chouji..." Ino didn't need to continue as everyone knew what she meant.

"Not Chouji too... First Iruka Sensei, now..." Naruto growled, punching the wall. This prompts Hiruzen to look at him.

"Not Iruka too." The old man mutters. "In any case, everyone get inside. It's not safe out here."

Everyone enters the clinic then Anko locks the door before blocking it with a few tables with help from Naruto an Sasuke.

Shikamaru finds the remote to the TV and turns it on. And what they see on TV leaves them all speechless.

"What the hell is this..." Anko grated, her fist clenching tightly.

"So this pandemic is not just affecting us here in Japan..." Sasuke said, watching the reports flashing on TV.

"Is this the end for us?" Ino asks fearfully.

"No..." Naruto said grimly. "It's only just the beginning.

Author's Notes: Here you go. The 2nd chapter of Konoha Gakuen: HOTD. R&R please :)


	3. The Getaway

**Chapter 3: The Getaway**

The ragtag group of survivors in the clinic spent the next few moments in silence and lost in their own thoughts at what they've seen on TV. After a while, it was Shikamaru who broke the silence.

"Something doesn't quite add up here guys. What's happening right now may seem like the Black Plague happening all over again on a massive scale, but the reality is that it's also statistically impossible." Shikamaru stated, causing Naruto to glare at him.

"If it's so statistically impossible genius, then why the hell is it happening now?" Naruto snapped angrily, prompting Hinata to place a hand on his shoulders to calm him down. But as soon as he does, he suddenly comes to a terrible realization. "Wait a sec here, you're not saying that this plague..."

"...Is artificial in nature and did not occur naturally?" Hiruzen finishes for the blonde thoughtfully. "That seems to be the most probable cause of our current predicament. And even if we were to assume that the plague was a mutated form of a pre-existing disease, no mutation is drastic enough to be able to re-animate a corpse like what we've seen."

"And the odds of this exact same phenomenon happening in various parts of the globe at the same time is, as Shikamaru said, statistically impossible." Sakura supplied with widening eyes. "But why?"

"This whole business has all the makings of a terrorist bio attack." Everyone in the room turns to Sasuke who was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and his arms crossed. "No natural disease can have such precise effects on the afflicted and coordinated to occur all over the world simultaneously. Whatever group is behind all this must be extremely organized and well funded."

"You seem to know a lot about this kind of stuff gaki." Anko commented from her spot, lying on one of the clinic beds. "How do we know that you're not just blowing smoke up our ass?"

Sasuke levels a look at the purple haired teacher before answering. "I'm from a family of cops Anko Sensei and ever since I learned how to walk, I've been taught to watch out for anything suspicious and consider all the evidences before coming to a conclusion. And right now, all the observations I've had and all the evidences I've seen points to an organized and legitimate terrorist bio-attack."

"Which brings us back to the original question of why they did it. What do they hope to accomplish by doing this?" The question came from Ino.

"Power and control." Hinata said softly, her eyes narrowing at a particularly bad memory which occured in her childgood which resulted in the death of her uncle and the current rift between her clan's Main Family and Branch Family. "Many of them don't really need a reason to do the things they do. Some terrorist groups though delude themselves by thinking they're fighting for a worthy cause when their true reason is just as selfish as the next man."

"B-But if this is some sort of disease, then why aren't the rest of us affected?" Konohamaru asks.

"From what we've seen, you only get infected when you get bitten by them. Kinda' like a jacked up version of rabies, only a thousand times worse." Naruto said. "In any case, let's worry about getting out of here, finding our families and get to safety first before speculating who caused the problem in the first place."

"Assuming there's a safe place for us to go to." Shikamaru said glumly.

"What do you mean?" Ino asks.

"You've seen it on the news haven't you?" Shikamaru gestured towards the still turned on TV which was currently broadcasting static. "They reported that authorities are finding it impossible to maintain law and order which means that it's complete anarchy on the streets. The fact that they prematurely stopped the broadcast means they don't want people to see it. And the worst part is that it's not over because the pandemic is spreading like wildfire. Not one of us stand a chance out there."

"Are you suggesting that we give up? I can't accept that as an option." Sasuke said dangerously.

"I don't think that's what Shikamaru means." Hiruzen spoke up. "I think what he's saying is that we're vulnerable if we all go our seperate ways. But if we all work together as a unit, our chances of survival will be much greater."

"Well since we're gonna be teaming up, we should first figure out what our priorities are." Shikamaru stated. "And I say, we should get out of the school first and find someplace safe where we could crash first and possibly resupply."

"My family house is about a few kilometers away. It will serve adequately as a shelter and I have some supplies there that may be of some use." Hiruzen offered cryptically. "We can use the school bus in the parking lot to get us there but the problem is that the lobby and the parking lot are probably crawling with the infected."

"We don't really have to fight through all of them." Shikamaru pointed out. "They only respond to sound and to a certain extent, light stimuli so we should be fine as long as we don't make too much noise while we move. And if we DO have to defend ourselves, we should probably stick to melee attacks and aim at pushing them away rather then finishing them off while we run because we can't really afford a straight up fight in an area heavily populated by the infected."

At this, Sasuke looks at his confiscated revolver and shrugs his shoulders. "Fine with me. I've only got probably a dozen extra rounds left for this revolver anyways. If we're just working to get away from here, I could probably find something in here I could use aside from this baton I also got from the dead cop. I suggest the rest of you do the same."

"I good for now with this." Anko said, shouldering her baseball bat. "Except for the blonde foxy's girlfriend, you other girls, the headmaster and the little brat should start looking though." Before Ino could speak, Anko cuts her off. "If that fire extinguisher you have goes off prematurely, we ALL won't be able to see anything and the next person we might run into could be an infected. We should also bring any food and water that we might be able to find here."

"Right then. Now that we at least have some sort of working plan, let's get to it." Naruto said before the group seperates to search the clinic. After about half an hour, everyone was prepared to leave.

"Everyone ready to go?" Naruto asks, adjusting the pack he had on his back while hefting his crowbar. He recieves silent nods from the younger girls with Ino carrying what looked like a large gardening shear, Sakura hefting a dextrose stand as well as an expanded medical kit and of course, Hinata with her bow and arrow.

"As ready as we'll ever be." Sasuke said. The dark haired teenager now carried a lead pipe and the gun he confiscated from the dead officer was now stuffed in the back of his pants. And like Naruto, he also carried a pack on his back.

"I've got the keys to the bus right here." Anko supplied, holding it up with one hand while the other held her baseball bat.

"Then we're all set." Hiruzen said grimly before twisting the handle of his cane and, to everyone's surprise, slowly drew a slim sword from it. "Allow me to lead the way."

"Woah..." Shikamaru exclaimed, backing away when Hiruzen takes a few practice swings with the sword.. "With all due respect sir, but watch where you swing that thing."

"My apologies." Hiruzen said. "It's just that it's been so long since I drew my blade that I'm afraid that my skills with it has dulled."

"Geez Jiisan. When did you get that thing? You some kind of samurai now?" Naruto asks, giving the blade an appreciative look.

"Something like that Naruto Kun." The old man said with a small smile. "And I've always had this though I had little reason to use it till now. But enough about my sword. Don't we have to be someplace else?"

"Right then." Naruto said as he reached for the door. "Let's go. Remember to stay close to each other everyone."

The group of students and teachers runs out of the clinic and into the hallways where, except for a few persistent infected, they encountered very little resistance so their trip to the school bus was largely incident-free.

But as they reached the bus and just as Anko was starting the engine, a voice calls out to them.

"Please wait for us!" A silver haired man wearing glasses pleaded along with a large group of students who were running away from a large number of infected.

"Hurry! Get in!" Naruto urged the group as he drew what looked like a makeshift molotov cocktail from his pack. As soon as the last person get into the bus, he lights the alcohol soaked rag which served as the molotov's fuse with a lighter and throws it towards the infected who were incidentally approaching a growing puddle of gasoline from the ruptured fuel lines of a number of other vehicles.

"Go! Go!" Naruto screams, pounding on the bus while hanging on to dear life while it peels out of the school parking lot as the molotov ignites the fuel puddle and transforms the area into a raging inferno whose flames consumes everything.

"Yeah! Burn baby burn!" The blonde cheers, cackling madly before finalliy getting on the bus. But as soon as he does, he notices his fellow students of his group were glaring the silver haired man wearing glasses. Hinata in particular, looked quite furious.

Naruto then understood why after studying the silver haired man in their midst. His voice was a growl as he spoke his name.

"Kabuto."

Author's Notes: Here you go guys. My first update for 2011. Hope it was worth the wait. Laters :)


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